EXCITING junior basketballers, Charlie Baker, Jack Sobey, Ruby Cleaver and Holly Rook have been selected to compete at next year’s Kumon Country-Metro Challenge following impressive performances at the Gold Nugget Camp.

Hamilton had six representatives at the camp, but it was the four kids who put their best foot forward, catching the eye of Victoria Country selectors.

The four young talents are among some the best kids in their age groups with the selection giving them endless opportunities to further their basketball careers.

Ruby Cleaver was selected in the Under-14 Girls (Team A), while Holly Rook managed to make the squad as emergency – both are in the top 33 country prospects for their age.

Jack Sobey was selected in the Under-15 Boys (Team C), while Charlie Baker gained his spot in the Under-14 Boys (Team B).

The Kumon Country-Metro Challenge has temporarily replaced the Southern Cross Challenge in 2022 due to state border closures and travel concerns.

Both country and metropolitan representatives will earn insight into development and higher-level gameplay across this elite tournament.

Basketball Victoria high performance head coach, Zoe Carr said the talented crop of juniors had excelled during the tough challenges COVID-19 had presented to their basketball.

“They have been able to pick up where they left off last lockdown … (the tournament) will give our selected players a change to push their case for state team selections later in 2022,” she said.

Carr said it was a credit to the up-and-coming athletes who persisted during lockdowns and restrictions to continually improve.

She said they had done a great job with all the high-level basketball they had missed out on and couldn’t wait to see them in action at the Kumon Country-Metro Challenge.

“It was extremely impressive to see our country athletes return to the court for these tryouts, ready to learn and up for the challenge of elite basketball,” she said.

“It’s been a long time coming for these players to return to high performance basketball tournaments and they’ve shown how excited and passionate they are about representing Country at the challenge.”

The 2022 Kumon Country-Metro Challenge will be held at the State Basketball Centre, 291 George St, Wantirna South from January 14-17 in 2022.